LUCY SELLS CRAIG TO WAYNE NEWTON

S1;E9
~ November 25, 1968

Directed
by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Robert O’Brien

Synopsis

Lucy
gets Craig a gig filling in for Wayne Newton’s drummer. Naturally,
Lucy and Kim also manage to get into the act.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter), Desi
Arnaz Jr. (Craig
Carter)

Guest
Cast

Wayne
Newton (Himself)
also played himself in “Lucy Discovers Wayne Newton” (TLS
S4;E14).
He is one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas, known by the
nicknames the ‘Midnight Idol,’ ‘Mr. Las Vegas’ and ‘Mr.
Entertainment.’ His well-known songs include 1972’s “Daddy,
Don’t You Walk So Fast” (#4 on the Billboard chart), “Years”
(1980), and his signature song “Danke Schoen” (1963), which he
performs in this episode. He will also play himself in a 1970 episode
of “Here’s Lucy.”

Wayne Newton introduces this episode on the “Here’s Lucy” DVD. He credits Lucille Ball with helping discover him and fostering his talent.

Jerry
Newton
(Himself) is
the older brother of Wayne Newton.
He
plays the guitar for Wayne Newton. He will also appear in 1970’s
“Lucy and Wayne Newton” (S2;E22).

Jerry’s
catch phrase is “Oh, gosh yes.”

Tommy
Amato (Himself)
was a bandleader and Wayne Newton’s bass player. He will also appear
in 1970’s “Lucy and Wayne Newton” (S2;E22).

Amato
has one line of dialogue but is not identified by name.

Don
Vincent
(Himself) was a composer, conductor, and actor. Here he plays piano
for Wayne Newton. He played himself on a 1981 episode of “Vega$”
guest starring Wayne Newton.

Vincent
is not identified by name and has no dialogue.

Harvey
Lang
(Himself) was Wayne Newton’s drummer. This is his only screen
credit.

Lang
has no dialogue.

Uncredited Concert Specatators
Include:

Jack
Berle
was the older brother of Milton Berle, a frequent guest star of
Lucille Ball’s sitcoms. Jack makes the first of his eleven uncredited
appearances on the series.
George
DeNormand
appeared
in three films with Lucille Ball from 1937 to 1963. This is the just
one of his many appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s
Lucy.”
James
Gonzales was
a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the
1953 The
Long, Long Trailer.
He was previously seen on “The Lucy Show” as Stan Williams
in “Lucy
Digs Up a Date” (TLS S1;E2).
He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3
episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Tony
Regan
had nearly 150 screen credits, most uncredited, including the Lucille
Ball film Critic’s
Choice
(1963).
Clark
Ross
makes the first of his three appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” He is
also in the 1974 Lucille Ball film Mame.

Other
uncredited extras make up the rest of the concert audience.

Wayne
Newton is one of ten celebrities to also have appeared on “The Lucy
Show.” The others are Carol Burnett, Wally Cox, Jack Benny, Milton
Berle, Danny Thomas, Art Linkletter, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Frankie
Avalon, and Phil Harris. Of these stars, only Milton Berle and
Tennessee Ernie Ford also appeared on “I Love Lucy” or “The
Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” Carol Burnett takes top honors with 7
half-hour episodes (including one two-parter).

Craig
says that Wayne Newton improvises a lot “and
if you’re not with it, you’ll still be in the bus station by the time
he gets to Phoenix.”
“By
the Time I Get to Phoenix”
is a song written by Jimmy
Webb.
Originally recorded by Johnny
Rivers in
1965, it was a big hit for country singer Glen Campbell in 1967.
Wayne Newton and Campbell performed the song as a duet live in London
in 1975. Coincidentally, Wayne Newton’s family moved to Phoenix when
he was ten to help with his asthma.

Lucy
brags to Wayne Newton that Craig was in one of the 100 bands that
played during halftime at the Rose Bowl football game in front of a
hundred thousand fans.

During
the opening concert, Wayne Newton sings “Danke
Schoen”
by Bert Kaempfert, Kurt Schwabach, and Milton
Gabler. Newton first recorded it in 1963 and it quickly became his
signature song. Newton’s rendition was prominently featured in the
1986 film Ferris
Buehler’s Day Off.

Wayne
Newton then launches into “You’re
Nobody till Somebody Loves You”
written
by Russ
Morgan, Larry
Stock,
and James Cavanaugh and published in 1944.
It’s most famous cover was by Dean Martin in 1964. Wayne Newton
also sang it on “Lucy Discovers Wayne Newton” (TLS S4;E14).

The
next day, Lucie and Lucy do a soft shoe to “Tea
for Two”
to show off Kim’s dancing skills. The song is by
Vincent Youmans and was introduced in the 1925 Broadway musical, No,
No, Nanette. The
lyrics are not used here.

Wayne
Newton’s rehearsal starts with “Rock-a-Bye
Your Baby with a Dixie Melody”
a popular song written
by Jean
Schwartz,
with lyrics by Sam
M. Lewis and Joe
Young.
The song was introduced by Al
Jolson in
the 1918 Broadway musical Sinbad.

Newton’s
second performance at the club begins with “Swanee”
another associated with Al Jolson written in 1919 by George
Gershwin
with lyrics by Irving
Caesar.

Next,
Wayne Newton and Kim sing
“Waiting for the Robert E. Lee”
while
Lucy plays the guitar. The three of them then play the banjo
together. Harry joins in for the final chorus, but does not bother
to strum his banjo. The song was yet another hit for Al Jolson and
was written
in 1912 by Lewis F. Muir and
L. Wolfe Gilbert.
All three of the above songs were from shows the premiered at New
York’s Winter Garden Theatre.

The
studio audience applauds Lucie’s enthusiastic lip synch to “Danke
Shoen” several times while Craig practices his drum part and Lucy
mimes playing the guitar. While Desi Jr. actually played the drums,
Lucy and her daughter were miming playing the guitar and banjo.

On
stage at the club, Harry does a cartwheel. This was a skill Gale
Gordon showed off several times on “The Lucy Show.”

The
title of this episode is unusually worded. The word “sells” means “convinces” not a monetary transaction! The episode is the first
“Here’s Lucy” episode to feature a musical guest. Most times,
Lucy and her kids will find away to get into the act!

Wayne
Newton also played (a version of) himself in “Lucy Discovers Wayne
Newton” (TLS
S4;E14) in which Newton also crooned “You’re Nobody till Somebody
Loves You.”

Oops! While
listening to Wayne Newton sing in the opening scene, Craig reaches
for his drink and the rose centerpiece falls out of its glass. Desi
Arnaz Jr. and Gale Gordon spend a few moments fiddling with it to get
it to stand up again.

Check the Gate! When
Kim runs to answer the front door to let Uncle Harry in, the camera
swings right to follow her to the door. When it stops, there is a
crew member standing on the right side of the screen.

Drum Beat! Lucy
makes a small banner that says “Wayne Newton” to put on the front
of his drums. On his drum set at home (presumably the same one) the
brand name is taped over. Here, until Lucy applies her banner, it
has no tape or brand name.

Product Displacement! Lucy’s
can of hairspray has no label.

Casting Thrift! Wayne
Newton must have a loyal following because the same background
performers are in the audience for the first and second performance,
albeit in slightly different seats.